The Tale of Aang and Kuzon
by Dorkshawty
Summary: We've heard of the infamous trouble-making duo of Aang and Kuzon from our favorite airbender himself. But how exactly did an air nomad become friends with a kid from the fire nation in a day and age when the Fire Nation was different? On hiatus.
1. Adventure 1: The Dragon Egg Rescue

**Author's Note: This is the first story I've posted in years and I have yet to finish my Danny Phantom Path to Evil story, which I promise I will when I have time. In the meantime, this is another story that fills in the blanks of Avatar that the producers never have time for (because I'm famous for filler stories.) Watch out for my Ben 10/My LIfe as a teenage Robot story still in the works.. It will be kind of similar to the episode "The Avatar and the Firelord" in its subject matter, but friendlier. I hope you enjoy. I wil patch up any mistakes later on.  
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**Adventure 1: The Dragon Egg Rescue**

Kuzon could barely contain himself; he was ready to jump out of his skin. It was only on rare occasions that his family "enjoyed" such things as the circus after all. Truthfully, Kuzon and his older brother Ruzon enjoyed the circus; their parents just tolerated it. They believed the circus was for peasants and farmhands seeking to escape their family's problems, not for highly ranked government officials. But they did love to see their children smile. And now they were waiting in line to enter the circus tent of the Four Flames: Kuzon's most beloved circus. He could only think of all the Panthevultures, camelephants, and platypus bears he would see and how the show has changed and all the fire flakes and fire gummies and –

"Kuzon, come on, the line is moving," Ruzon called to his brother when the line began to move towards the tent.

"Coming, Ruzon! I wouldn't miss this for anything," Kuzon said as he followed his family inside.

Since Kuzon's father was a high ranking government official, their family got to sit in the best seats that were placed high above the common seats. They were in the best location so his family could get a good view of the circus ring. Kuzon waved to some of his friends that were sitting across for his as well as his friends sitting below; all of them just as ecstatic as he was. The atmosphere was enough to make any young heart uncontrollably giddy.

"It looks like the show will be starting soon," Ruzon told his excitable brother.

"I hope sooner rather than later; I have a ton of work that's just begging to be taken care of," Kuzon's father muttered impatiently under his breath.

Just has he finished his sentence, the lights dimmed, the audience became quiet and a spotlight shone center stage.

"Oh no," Kuzon exclaimed," I forgot to get the fire treats. We can't watch the circus without fire treats!"

Kuzon and Ruzon had a tradition among brothers: whenever they would go to the circus, Kuzon would eat fire gummies while Ruzon would enjoy fire flakes so they could share with one another. So Kuzon rushed to the lower level of the tent and to the snack bar to get the treats.

"Hurry back, Kuzon!" Ruzon whispered to Kuzon as he rushed off.

In no time at all, Kuzon had fire treats for himself and his brother; fire gummies in one hand and fire flakes in the other, both of them the largest size the circus sold.

"If I'm careful, I can get back to my seat before the first show without spilling any of the treats," Kuzon said to himself while trying to carry the bags.

As he carefully traveled back to his seat, Kuzon saw someone watching him from the corner of his eye. He could have easily ignored the person looking at him, but Kuzon's inner trouble maker told him to investigate. He couldn't pass up the potential for an adventure, not even for the Four Flames Circus. So he promptly walked to the curtain where the eye was watching him and observed the sign that read "FOR PERORMERS AND WRANGLERS ONLY." Now there was no way Kuzon could resist. Before he could act, he was pulled behind the curtain and he spilled both bags of fire treats.

"Aw, man, my gum—"

Kuzon was interrupted by a hand put over his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Shh, someone will hear us," a mysterious boy said to him. Kuzon obeyed.

"I promise I'll get you more treats, I just need help with an important mission," the boy said quietly.

"What kind of mission," Kuzon eagerly asked, having completely forgotten about his precious fallen treats.

"Okay come with me," the boy instructed, "but stay low and quiet."

Without question, Kuzon crouched down and followed his new companion deeper into the secret area of the tent; the forbidden territory. They ducked and dived behind barrels and bales of hay to avoid being seen by any of the circus workers. Suddenly, the boy stopped and Kuzon halted in his tracks as well.

"Why did we stop? Wha–", Kuzon was again cut off by a "shh" and a hand over his mouth.

"We're here," he said.

"Where's 'here'?"

The boy pointed to a blue tent with a sign on it that read "Ringmaster's Quarters." Kuzon's heart began to race faster than it already was. Trouble was coming and that meant one thing: adventure.

"So…what's the mission," Kuzon asked curiously.

"…a dragon," the boy whispered as low as he could.

"A dragon?"

"Yeah. The Ringmaster has one in his quarters and I need to get it."

"You wanna steal it," Kuzon gasped. He didn't want to do anything criminal.

"No, I want to free it," the boy explained, "two days ago, that ringmaster snuck into a dragon's nest and stole the only egg the mother had. The mother was sick, so there wasn't anything she could do to stop them. So I came here to free the dragon and return it to its mother."

"Wow. I've never done a rescue mission before! Let's do it," Kuzon exclaimed.

Kuzon held out his hand to the boy in a gesture of partnership. They strongly shook the other's hand and snuck over to the tent. After making sure the coast was clear, as well as the tent, they snuck into the Ringmaster's quarters. Right as they entered the room, they saw it.

"Whoa," the both gasped as they laid their eyes on it.

The egg was enormous; a giant among the eggs of other animals. It was about the size of an extra large watermelon and looked just as heavy. The shell was glossy with polish and as black as charcoal from the many times the mother doused it with fire to keep it warm. It's very rare that people get to see dragon's eggs up close and in person, so it was an extraordinary sight.

"It's huge. How are we gonna get it out of here without being seen," Kuzon asked.

"Don't worry, I came prepared," the boy answered as he walked toward it, "just keep watch outside."

Kuzon obeyed the order of his "commanding officer" and poked his eye through the curtain of the tent to watch for anyone that might be coming. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuzon watched the boy as he prepared the "contraband" for transport. The boy wrapped I tin cloth and tied rope around it. When he was done, the egg was ready to be carried by the two ten year old boys.

"Now I need your help to carry this out of here. This egg's really heavy," he said as he grabbed one end of the rope. Kuzon took hold of the other end and they lifted their treasure together.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Kuzon checked the coast to see if it was clear, then they slipped out of the Ringmaster's Quarters and began to walk toward the exit. Kuzon's heart was pounding with every step they took. Any second they could be caught and have to make a getaway with his partner in crime…

"Hey you two, hold it right there," a voice came from behind them.

Both of them froze in their tracks. A man with a guard uniform began to walk toward them.

"Just stay calm and act natural," the boy instructed to Kuzon. He obeyed.

"What are you kids doing back here? Civilians aren't allowed behind the curtains," the guard said sternly.

"Well sir…we…uh. We were hired by the ringmaster to help him move this huge prop," Kuzon responded nervously, thinking on his feet.

"Yeah that's right! It's for tonight's grand finale and the Ringmaster promised us a huge bag of fireflakes to do it for him," his accomplice added.

They both tried to cover their guilt and fear with smiles. The guard looked skeptical.

"Let me just see what you have in there so I can be sure," the guard said as he tugged on the cloth.

"No, you can't do that!" they shouted in unison.

"And why not," he demanded.

"Um…um…um…" they both stammered.

"I thought so. Then I'll just take a look."

He pulled away the cloth and eyed the black egg for a few moments. Kuzon and the boy trembled in their boots; both of them were just waiting until they could make a run for it. Kuzon looked past the guard and saw the Ringmaster heading toward his quarters; the scene of their crime. It was only a matter of time now.

"Ah, ha," the guard exclaimed,"I've seen one of these before. It's a flash egg! Oh boy! These things used to be real commonplace at circuses in my day; real crowd pleaser too. Just light em up and all kinds of colorful lights go off in every which direction…" the guard rambled.

Kuzon couldn't believe the guard didn't realize what they were carrying. He guessed they were either really lucky or the guard was really dumb. While the guard went on and on, Kuzon kept his eyes on the Ringmaster who was just about to reach his tent…

"…you don't see things like this anymore. These folks are in for a real treat…" the guard annoyingly continued.

"Sorry sir, but we're kind of in a hurry," Kuzon interrupted after he saw the Ringmaster go inside his tent.

"Let's hurry," they boy added, "before the Ringmaster has our heads."

Both of them tried to walk as quickly as they could without looking suspicious. Slowly but surely they were getting to the exit; neither of them said a word.

"Ahhhhh! My egg! My egg's been stolen!" the Ringmaster shrieked at the top of his lungs as he burst out of his tent.

He surveyed around the area and spotted the two guilty boys carrying his stolen prize.

"You rotten kids! Get back here with that egg!" he bellowed at them.

"Run!" they boys said to each other.

They began to sprint towards the exit, dragging the egg behind them as they ran. The guard and the Ringmaster gave pursuit to retrieve the stolen treasure. Luckily, the boys were much faster than them and made it outside; the pursuers followed.

"Which way? Which way?" Kuzon asked frantically, his feet still marching in place.

"Don't worry I got it covered," the boy reassured him.

Quickly he reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange looking whistle. He sucked in all the air he could then blew into it with all his might. Kuzon heard nothing and was still in a panic.

"What was that supposed to do? Those goons are still coming!"

They boy didn't answer; his gaze was turned toward the sky.

"Hey, don't you hear me? I said those goons…"

"Hang on to that egg. Our rides here."

Kuzon adhered to the instruction and clutched the egg in his arms as tightly as he could.

"Okay. Now what?" Kuzon asked clutching the egg.

"Prepare for takeoff."

"Take-oooooooooooooooooooooofff!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself propelled into the night sky, the wind rushing past him and his body at the mercy of the air. His heart was ready to jump out of his chest from a mixture of excitement and fear, even more so when began to descend. All he could do was fiercely hold the egg and hope for a miracle. Thankfully, a miracle did come and somehow he landed on something that wasn't the harsh ground, but rather a padded platform.

"Have a nice flight?" a voice came from behind him.

Kuzon turned around to see the boy he left back on earth, sitting comfortably opposite of him.

"What just happened?" Kuzon asked with his eyes opened wide.

"We just made our great escape!" the boy answered with a giant smile.

Kuzon, still incredibly confused and on edge, (the egg still clutch between his arms) looked over the rim to survey his surroundings. He was bewildered when he saw the circus tent glowing not far off in the distance and realized they were flying. He was even more amazed when he saw the giant furry six-legged creature they were riding on.

"A flying bison!" Kuzon exclaimed.

"Yep! His name is Appa. He's great at getaways," the boy explained.

"How'd you get a flying bison in the Fire Nation? How did we get up here? Who are you?!" Kuzon asked in one breath.

"Hello," the boy said as he extended his hand out, "My name is Aang. And I am an Airbender."


	2. Adventure 2: Dragon Hunting

**Author's Note: Thank you guys who reviewed my first chapter. I'm glad the subject I chose was interesting enough to get reviews! Hope you like this next chapter too. also, if you know anyway I can advertise my story, let me know. And to new readers that might come, please leave reviews for each chapter separately. Without further ado, here's the second chapter.**

**Adventure 2: Dragon Hunting**

"Hello, my name's Aang. And I'm an airbender."

Kuzon instinctively shook his hand while in awe. This was a boy that could fly;that could make other people fly, even Kuzon. He was always told in school that he would probably never see an airbender and if he did, by some miracle, he could only watch them from the ground as they flew through the air on their gliders. They were a people that kept themselves isolated from the world and its problems. Yet, here was one of "those people" sitting right in front of him. Smiling. Extending a hand a friendship; a lifeline with which to connect with a person that wasn't like him. Kuzon could only think of how lucky he was.

"Wow. It's so great to mee you Aang," Kuzon said with a smile.

"Great to meet you too. And your name is..." Aang asked.

"Kuzon. My name's Kuzon," he answered proudly. An airbender now knew his name.

"Great to meet you Kuzon, and thanks for your help. I couldn't have done it by myself," Aang thanked him.

"It's thanks to you we even got out of there with this thing! that was incredible with the bison and the flying and...wow," Kuzon exclaimed. He ws thinking faster than he could even speak.

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty good," he responded humbly.

"So," Kuzon started, thinking of their mission,"what are we going to do with this egg? What's the plan?"

"Well, we should get the egg back to the mother's nest as soon as possible. We can try to look for the nest tomorrow when it's light out."

"Why tomorrow? We can look for it now," Kuzon suggested.

"Can't. It's way too dangerous to creep around dragon infested forests at night. Dragons can get really cranky," Aang answered.

"Well when you put it that way...we can go early in the morning to look for it."

"And I can pay you back for those fire flakes and fire gummies afterward."

"Oh no! Fireflakes? Ruzon? The circus!" Kuzon shouted.

"What?"

"I was supposed to be getting fire treats for me and my brother while we watched the circus. I should have been back a long time ago. The circus is probably over by now! My parents are gonna kill me!"

"No problem. I can drop you off at your house. That way, when your parents come home, you can tell them you sat with a friend and you walked home with them," Aang suggested.

"That's just what I was thinking," Kuzon gasped.

He was impressed that an airbender could be so ingenious at lying and on the same page as him. Kuzon always read that airbenders were taught to be noble in all that they did; something called "Airbender's Honor"." But then again, Aang was a kid just like Kuzon. He wasn't perfect. He was just like him.

Kuzon directed Aang to his house and got him there quick enough to beat the rest of his family.

"Good, my parents aren't home yet," Kuzon sighed with relief. He quickly climbed off Appa and went to his front door.

"Thanks again for your help Kuzon," Aang thanked him once again.

"So what are we going to do?"

"I'll meet you on that cliffside tomorrow morning. I'll keep the egg until then and we can start our search."

"Good plan. See you tomorrow Aang," Kuzon said as he waved to his new friend.

"See you later."

Aang and Appa departed into the night sky until they were no longer visible. He had just had the greatest adventure of his life and he was sure Aang would lead him to many more.

"Kuzon? Kuzon is that you?" a voice called to him.

Kuzon turned to see his family strolling up the hill, his brother leading the way.

"Father! Mother! Ruzon! Hi," Kuzon called to them as they came closer

"Kuzon where have you been, your mother and I were worried sick. We didn't have to waste money on your ticket if you weren't going to stay," his father scolded. He knew how much his father detested wasting valuable money; especially on something trivial like the circus.

"I didn't miss the show father. When I left to get the fire treats, my friend Dao asked me to sit with him. I couldn't say no," Kuzon lied with a straight face. He had quite a bit of experience lying to his parents. They believed almost any words that flowed out of Kuzon's mouth, whether they be truth or fiction.

Ruzon looked skeptical.

"In that case son, you should have met us when the show was over. Don't ever worry us like that again," his mother said sternly yet sweetly.

"Yes mother," Kuzon answered respectfully as he bowed.

"Now let's get inside. It's late," Kuzon father yawned as he pushed them to go inside.

Kuzon followed his parents toward the front door. Ruzon walked up to join his brother at his side and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"So, bro," Ruzon started nonchalantly, "that was some circus, don't you think?"

"Oh...yeah-- it was the best! Even better than last year!" Kuzon nervously answered. He had a little more trouble telling a bold faced lie to his brother, so he tried to be very vague about his response.

"Wasn't it amazing when they had the Panthevultures play the Fire Nation National Anthem on the tsungi horns?" Ruzon asked excitedly.

"What?! I missed that?! Aw man!" Kuzon gasped in disbelief. How could he have missed such a spectacular feat?

He immediatley shut up when he realizedhe had just given himself away.

"I knew it," Kuzon said while he shook his head," you may be able to fool mother and father but you can't fool me. Nice try though."

"Are you gonna rat me out?!"

"No, I wouldn't do that to you brother. I don't need to know where you were or what you did. Just don't make a habit out of it," Ruzon said as he patted his little brother on the head. He slightly mussed his hair.

"Thanks Ruzon. I won't."

"Good."

Kuzon didn't know how his brother always knew when he was weaving fantastical yarns and telling tall tales. Somehow he always saw through him. But he was grateful to have an understanding brother that would never reveal his exploits to his strict parents. He didn't know how he coud survive without him.

"Ruzon!" he called after his brother, "did they really make the panthevultures play the tsungi horns?"

"Of course not!" Ruzon laughed.

The next morning, Kuzon woke bright and early with the sun; this was rare as he was a child who frequently loved to sleep in. But today, he was too anxious to meet his new nomadic friend. There was no time to lose and they had to search high and low so they could return the dragon egg to its mother. Off on another adventure he went, leaving a note on the dining room table; then he was out the door. But not without running in to his brother Ruzon who was practicing his firebending techniques as he always did early in the morning.

"Good morning, Kuzon. Where are you off to at this hour? You usually don't join the world of the living until noon," his brother greeted him jokingly.

"I, uh...signed up for the school play and they want to begin rehearsals early this year. Angi with kill me if I'm not there on time," Kuzon lied.

"Hmmm. Well it's nice you found something constructive to do with your spare time. So...what's the name of your play?"

"The Fire Lily Meadow. It's a favorite."

"Nice try little brother..." Ruzon again saw through him, "but I happen to know for a fact that your school performed _The Fire Lily Meadow_ last year and a play is never done twice."

"You got me again," Kuzon sighed.

"Just don't come back too late," his brother warned like always with a nonchalant tone.

"I won't," Kuzon answered as he began to run off.

"And stay **out **of trouble," Ruzon warned while he ran into the forest.

Kuzon waved back to show he heard him; however there was no guarantee he would heed his warning. Kuzon ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the cliffside. When hegot there he looked in all directions for any sign of his new friend, even toward the sky. It couldn't take him too long ot get there on that gigantic fluffy monster. Soon he heard the large rumble of the said monster and his face lit up.

"Aang, where are you? Are you down there?" Kuzon called.

"Down here!" Aang's voice came from below. Kuzon looked under the cliffside to see Aang and Appa waiting there; the dragon egg laying in the saddle. THey joined Kuzon topside and Aang dismounted.

"Nice to see you again, Kuzon," Aang greeted,"say hello, Appa."

"Hi Appa," Kuzon said as he approached him. But Appa responded with a growl; Kuzon backed away.

"I don't think he likes me," Kuzon stated as he stood behind Aang for safety. The sight of Appa's giant teeth scared him enough to scream.

"Don't worry, Appa's just shy; he has to get used to you," Aang explained, "Luckily, I have just the remedy for cranky bison."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny red delicious apple. He handed it to Kuzon.

"What am I supposed to do with this," he asked confused, "I already ate breakfast."

"No silly; give it to him."

Kuzon slowly and cautiously inched toward Appa, the apple held out in front of him. Appa just stared at the frightened boy with skepticism. Kuzon got close enough for the bison to sniff at the apple. Kuzon could hear the giant animal inhaling and exhaling to take in the scent of friendliness and slight fear. Kuzon was so sure he was going to get eaten, but surprisingly, Appa ate it. And he ate it rather happily.

"Huh, I guess he does like me after all," Kuzon laughed triumphantly as he patted Appa's nose.

"Told you."

"So, did you bring the egg?"

"Of course."

Aang climbed into the saddle and carefully brought the egg down; a hard feat for someone Aang's size to do alone.

"Cool. So let's go," Kuzon said. He got ready to carry the egg but Aang stopped him.

"Wait, we gotta do one thing first," Aang informed. Kuzon shrugged his shoulders. "When a mother dragon takes care of its egg, she ususally douses it with fire every morning to keep it warm. Only problem is...I'm not a firebender."

"Don't worry, my brother Ruzon can do it. He's an awesome firebender," Kuzon suggested, "he'll keep it warm. Be right back!"

"Kuzon ran back to his house and quickly retrieved his brother and dragged him to the cliffside.

"Ruzon, this is my friend Aang. Aang, my brother Ruzon," Kuzon introducedd them to one another.

"Nice to meet you," Aang greeted with a bow.

"Likewise," Ruzon said as he did the same.

"So Ruzon," Aang started, we have a little problem. We got this egg see, a dragon egg, and we need to keep it warm. Think you can help us out?"

Aang stepped aside so Ruzon coud get a look at the egg. As soon as he saw it, he gasped.

"Kuzon, where did you get a dragon egg?" Ruzon demanded.

"We...found it," Kuzon lied weakly.

Ruzon once again saw through his little brother's lie. Inside of his head, he started piecing clues together so he could figure out the truth. Kuzon mysteriously dissappearing at the circus, the circus performers complaining about a stolen item and now Kuzon and this boy Aang were in possession of a dragon egg: an item one can't come across easily.

"You stole this egg from the circus last night didn't you?" Ruzon asked boldly.

"Ho-ho-how did you know?! I-I-I-I didn't even-" Kuzon stammered.

"Why would you steal from the circus? You love the circus!"

"We did it for a good reason! Tell him, Aang!"

"Yeah. The ringmaster of that circus stole the egg from the nest of this dragon. The mother was too sick to defend her nest so we took the egg in order to return it. Plus it was really fun!" Aang explained .

Ruzon pondered for a moment and tried to be rational. He had to remember that Kuzon was young, only ten years old. His ideals were pure and not influenced by politics or adulthood. To him, what he was doing was right. And in reality, it was right. The egg needed to be returned to where it belonged.

"All right, I'll help. But only if you promise to get this egg back pronto," Kuzon told them sternly.

"Thank you, brother," Kuzon sighed in relief as he bowed to show his gratitude.

While Ruzon "roasted" the egg, Aang and Kuzon talked to pass the time.

"So Aang,"Kuzon began," do you come from the Western Air Temple? That's the closets one neaby right?"

"It is the closest one, to the Fire Nation, but I come form the Southern Air Temple. It's located in the Ptola mountain range. It may be smaller than the other but I call it home," Aang answered proudly.

"But what brings you all the way here to the Fire Nation? I thought Air Nomads practiced isolation."

"Normally we do. But my mentor, Monk Gyatso, says it's important for me to travel and learn about the other nations first hand. It's going to be important for me in the future."

"So have you ever been to the Earth Kingdom? Ba Sing Se?"

"I've been toi Omashu plenty of times to visit my friend Bumi, but I've never been to Ba Sing Se. I don't think I want to go there anyway. I hear there ae way to many walls and restrictions; not a lot of room for troublemaking..."

"Ever been to the water tribes?"

"Nope. But I'll get there eventually. Right now, I'm focusing on the Fire Nation."

"But why are you disguised as a Fire Nation local?"

"I don't exactly want Monk Gyatso finding out about the trouble I cause or I won't be able to travel anymore. Plus, I dont want there to be any problems between Airbenders and Firebenders because of me."

"I know what you mean," Kuzon sympathized, "My dad's a high ranking government official and he can't afford to have anything ruin his reputation. I get into a lot more trouble than I should; more than my dad can afford. If it weren't for Ruzon always covering for me, my dad would probably disown me..."

"Wow, that's roug buddy," Aang commented, "but I'm sure noth of us will grow out of our troublemaking habits."

"All right you two," Ruzon interrupted, "I've heated this egg as hot as I can get it." Smoke was still flowing from his fingertips.

"Thanks Ruzon. I hope you didn't cook it," Kuzon joked to Aang, "ever wonder what dragon tastes like?"

"Oh gross! You don't **eat **dragons. And besides, I'm a vegetarian."

"Just kidding," Kuzon laughed to his grossed out friend,"now Aang and I can take this egg into the forest and look for the nest."

Both of them walked toward the egg. Aang blew on it to cool it down (smoke was still coming off of it) so thet wouldn't burn their hands on the searing hot shell.

"Oh no you two," Ruzon interjected, "I'm not gonna let you two wander into the forest hunting dragons."

Ruzon took a hold of the egg (it wasn't hard for him to carry since he was so strong) and said: I'm going with you. I'll carry the egg and if anything happens we'll leave the egg and run. Got it?

Neither Kuzon nor Aang objected to Ruzon's company, so thhey headed into the nearby forest. The forest was thick and dense, so much that the sun could barely reach the forest floor. THe ground was littered with leaves that fluttered through the air after falling off the trees. As they looked around, they saw many empty dragon nests; all of them left behind by dragons whose eggs had already hatched and were off raising their offspring. They even saw the black shells in pieces from the hatched eggs. These things just made them want to move faster and hurry to return the egg to the mother.

"I hope we're not too late. Dragon-breeding season is close to being over," Kuzon informed them.

"Don't worry. The mother will definitely come back to find its egg," Aang reassured him.

"How are we even going to find the nest? They all look the same?"

"Easy. We just look for the only nest without broken egg shells."

Soon they reached a desolate part of the forest where the trees were charred black and the forest floor was covered in ash. In the distance they saw a completely empty nest, free of any sign of a baby dragon. Immediately next to it, the mother dragon was coiled up and sleeping. Its body was immense and the red scales reflected the sunlight in all directions. Truly, it was a work of nature that could only be destroyed by the harsh touch of man--that's what anyone would think when they saw the burns and bruises left on the dragon's scales. Some were singed black, some were broken and some lay shattered on the ground. When they looked closer, they saw a muzzle tightly bound around its mouth, most likely to prevent it from breathing fire.

"This is awful," Aang said sullenly,"why would anyone do this?"

"They must have really wanted that egg," Kuzon said quietly.

"Even if it's injured, we still need to be careful. It coul dbe on edge from the attack," Ruzn warned as they approached the sleeping dragon.

"We should at least remove the muzzle. It probably hasn;t eaten since those circus eople came," Aang pointed out as he ran toward the dragon with no regard for Ruzon's previous comment.

Shrugging their shoulders, Kuzon and Ruzon followed him to help remove the muzzle from the fallen dragon. Ruzon placed the egg in the nest so he could fully assist. The rope was bound several times around the mother dragon's mouth and had partially dug into the skin. Even with the dragon's strength, this muzzle would be hard to remove and proved even more difficult for the trio.

"This muzzle is really tight. I don't know if we'll be able to get it off," Kuzon said while he tugged on the rope with all his might to no avail.

"We can't just leave the dragon like this. She has to be able to take care of her baby when it hatches. We have to try harder," Aang insisted.

He couldn't stand to see an animal go through this much suffering.

"Don't worry you guys. It'll be alright," Ruzon reassured them.

As Ruzon said this, he began to notice a few things that were..awry. He felt the top of the dragon's mouth and it wasn't very hot. He had remembered, from one of his dragon-viewing trips with his father, that a dragon's muzzle is often too hot to be touched by someone other than a firebender. Yet, Aang was able to have contact with the dragon's mouth without being burned. In addition, there was no smoke or steam seeping out of the dragon's nose to show thet its internal fire was burning. After putting these pieces together, Ruzon realized what was wrong.

"Uh...look boys, it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere with this. The only way we can get this muzzle off is with a knife. So let's go back to the house and get one, okay," Ruzon suggested hastily.

"That's sounds like a good idea. But let's hurry," Aang said as he headed towards the forest entrance. The brothers followed.

When they got back to the house, Ruzon quickly retrieved a knife and they were ready to head out the door. But their father caught sign of them and stopped them in their tracks.

"Boys, where are you headed off to in a hurry," he asked.

"Um...uh...um..." they both stammered as they failed to form a lie.

"Booked full, I see," he said sarcastically," well sorry to tear you away from your busy schedule, but I need you for something Kuzon."

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. Come son, I want you to practice your drumming. We'll be having guests over tonight and I need you to perform the music while Ruzon performs his bending demonstration. Come on now, hurry," he insisted as he gestured for Kuzon to follow him.

"Um, Ruzon..."

"Don't worry, little brother. I'll take care of it," Ruzon winked to his brother.

Ruzon ran back outside to Aang who was hiding out back.

"What happened? Where's Kuzon," Aang asked concerned.

"Kuzon got caught up in something so I'm going to go back and take care of the dragon. **Alone**," Ruzon said nervously, "but he promised he would meet up with you tomorrow. So no worries."

Aang nodded and flew off on Appa, confident in Ruzon's words. As soon as Aang was out of sight, Ruzon went back inside, returned the knife to the drawer and went off to his lessons. He felt he had to protect the two young boys from a grim truth they couldn't handle. Not until they were older.


End file.
